December 6, 2024
3 mins read

ISRO launches Europe’s Proba-3 mission to orbit 

The mission, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed due to an anomaly detected in the PROBA-3 spacecraft. ..reports Asian Lite News

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the PSLV-C59/PROBA-3 mission from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday. 

The PSLV-C59 vehicle is carrying the Proba-3 spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit as part of a dedicated commercial mission by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). 

The mission, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed due to an anomaly detected in the PROBA-3 spacecraft. 

The PSLV-C59 mission is a joint initiative between ISRO and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). 

Proba-3 is a technology demonstration mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and marks ESA’s first precision formation-flying mission. It involves a pair of satellites flying together in a fixed configuration, as if forming a single large rigid structure in space, to showcase innovative formation-flying and rendezvous technologies. 

According to ESA, the mission will demonstrate formation flying within the context of a large-scale scientific experiment. The two satellites will create an approximately 150-metre-long solar coronagraph to study the Sun’s faint corona closer to the solar rim than has ever been achieved before. 

In addition to its scientific goals, the mission serves as a benchmark for achieving precise positioning between two spacecraft, employing a wide range of new technologies. 

Proba-3 will function as an orbital laboratory, demonstrating acquisition, rendezvous, proximity operations, and formation flying while validating advanced metrology sensors and control algorithms. This mission aims to pave the way for innovative approaches to mission control. The two satellites will maintain a fixed 150-metre configuration in space, aligned with the Sun, enabling the Occulter Spacecraft (OSC) to block the solar disk for the Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC). This alignment will provide uninterrupted views of the Sun’s faint corona for scientific study. 

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is India’s first launch vehicle to feature liquid stages and is employed to carry satellites and other payloads into space based on ISRO’s requirements. The PSLV’s first successful launch took place in October 1994. 

According to ISRO, PSLV-C59 involves four stages and carries a total payload mass of approximately 320 tonnes.  

The ISRO said that the mission reflected the dedication of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO and European Space Agency (ESA) teams. This achievement highlights India’s critical role in enabling global space innovation, ISRO added. 

ISRO successfully launched the PSLV-C59/PROBA-3 mission from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh earlier today. 

The PSLV-C59 vehicle is carrying the Proba-3 spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit as part of a dedicated commercial mission by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). 

The mission, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed due to an anomaly detected in the PROBA-3 spacecraft. 

The PSLV-C59 mission is a joint initiative between ISRO and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). 

Proba-3 is a technology demonstration mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and marks ESA’s first precision formation-flying mission. It involves a pair of satellites flying together in a fixed configuration, as if forming a single large rigid structure in space, to showcase innovative formation-flying and rendezvous technologies. 

According to ESA, the mission will demonstrate formation flying within the context of a large-scale scientific experiment. The two satellites will create an approximately 150-metre-long solar coronagraph to study the Sun’s faint corona closer to the solar rim than has ever been achieved before. 

In addition to its scientific goals, the mission serves as a benchmark for achieving precise positioning between two spacecraft, employing a wide range of new technologies. 

Proba-3 will function as an orbital laboratory, demonstrating acquisition, rendezvous, proximity operations, and formation flying while validating advanced metrology sensors and control algorithms. This mission aims to pave the way for innovative approaches to mission control. 

The two satellites will maintain a fixed 150-metre configuration in space, aligned with the Sun, enabling the Occulter Spacecraft (OSC) to block the solar disk for the Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC). This alignment will provide uninterrupted views of the Sun’s faint corona for scientific study. 

ALSO READ: India, the Forgotten Epicentre of Knowledge and Trade: Dalrymple

Previous Story

PM, Bhutan King discuss enhancing economic connectivity 

Next Story

Jaishankar: Democracy Has Delivered for India

Latest from -Top News

India Evacuates More Nepalis from Iran

The Nepal Embassy officials and MEA representatives received them at the New Delhi airport, as they departed for Butwal in Nepal….reports Asian Lite News The Nepal Embassy in New Delhi on Thursday

Hardliners eye Dhaka comeback

Maulana Manjurul Islam Afendi, Secretary General of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam, noted that efforts to bring these parties together had been in motion for years, but challenges remain in achieving consensus on the modalities

Over 7,000 Afghans return overnight

This latest influx is part of a broader, ongoing trend of mass returns—often under duress—from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, where millions of Afghans have lived for decades, many without legal documentation. A

Xi may skip BRICS Brazil summit

Chinese premier Li Qiang expected to attend in Xi’s place as Beijing signals shift in diplomatic posture; Belt and Road tensions with Brazil may be a factor….reports Asian Lite News In a
Go toTop

Don't Miss

India, Russia Boost Space Ties Post Chandrayaan-3 Success

Civil nuclear cooperation through the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in

ISRO prepares to boost space economy with structural reforms

My mission is to continue this work and to follow